The Voice of Cities and Regions in the UNFCCC Climate Process

Home of the LGMA Constituency

About the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency

At the Earth Summit in 1992, nine stakeholder groups, including local authorities, were designated as essential partners in society for the implementation of global sustainability agenda. The Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency has represented networks of local and regional governments at the processes under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) since the first Conference of Parties (COP) in 1995. ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability acts as the LGMA Focal Point and on behalf of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, a joint global policy advocacy initiative of the major international networks of local governments, in the area of climate.

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Important advocacy events

Follow the action for the LGMA at these critical advocacy events throughout the year.

COP26 - Glasgow COP25 - Madrid COP24 - Katowice SB50 - Bonn

The multilevel action COP

The first NDCs are not fully compatible with the Paris Agreement because they were all prepared before its adoption; in other words, they did not address key goals like multilevel action, climate neutrality and 1.5°C targets. That is why the success of COP26 depends on the new and ambitious NDCs to be prepared before COP26 by all nations in collaboration with local and regional governments. "Multilevel Action COP" is indeed the motto of the LGMA COP26 Roadmap.

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The Chile COP in Madrid

Serving as the second meeting for the Parties to the Paris Agreement, the 25th UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP 25) focused on raising ambition ahead of 2020, the year in which countries are expected to update their national climate action plans and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The convention aimed to fully operationalize the Paris Agreement, as well as showcase and amplify the climate actions undertaken by cities, regions, business, investors and civil society.

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The rulebook gets written in Katowice

COP24 was a powerful example of how multilateral systems can overcome unforeseen shocks and produce tangible results. The Convention concluded with the adoption of the Paris Agreement Work Programme, also known as the “Katowice Rulebook,” which explicitly details the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Although some technical details were pushed to next year’s COP, the essential components for delivering multilateral climate action are now in place.

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Multilevel dialogue on the agenda

For the first time, the SB session put multilevel dialogue on their agenda. The session, co-organized by the Bureau of the COP24 Presidency and ICLEI - as focal point of the LGMA Constituency - in collaboration with the UNFCCC, was titled "Driving Change Together: Special Joint Event on Multilevel Climate Action Focusing on E-mobility and Adaptation."

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Towards the Multilevel Action COP

COP26, to be held in Glasgow in 2021, is our critical moment to accelerate global climate action in the next decade. This coming decade is the most vital period to reach the climate neutrality and 1.5oC targets of the Paris Agreement. The second NDCs to be presented in Glasgow must reflect the urgency of ambitious action to respond to the climate emergency and seize the opportunities of the transformative power of the urban world.

Advocacy Outcomes

Paris Agreement recognizes the role of cities

The Paris Agreement, in its preamble, recognizes the importance of the engagement of all levels of government. The fact that 185 Parties out of the 197 Parties to the UNFCCC have ratified the Paris Agreement establishes a strong indication of the momentum towards strengthening multilevel governance on climate action.

Talanoa Dialogues at COP23

Cities and Regions Talanoa Dialogues are developed as a bottom-up, pro-active and immediate response to the COP23 decision in 2017 to convene year-long, inclusive Talanoa Dialogues.

Katowice enshrines Talanoa Dialogues

COP24 in Katowice invited Parties to consider the outcome, inputs and outputs of the Talanoa Dialogue in preparing their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and in their efforts to enhance pre-2020 implementation and ambition.

COP25: Desired Outcomes

For this Chilean COP held in Madrid, the focus was on building up the ambition for revised NDCs in 2020 (now 2021). Local governments showed their aligned actions and commitments to advance towards this important deadline.

LGMA advocates in action

"Oslo is the electric vehicle capital of the world and that has been made possible with the close cooperation of the national government so that it is cheaper to buy electric/hybrid vehicles and at the local level it is made easier to use. Planning for the city needs to involve the citizens of the city actively – which also helps raise awareness of the challenges being faced. For plans to be implemented they should be concrete and measurable." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

Mr. Raymond Johansen, Governing Mayor of Oslo, Norway
"Cities are taking on the standards of the Paris agreements in order to be able to meet them ourselves... We want a just transition, and the social impacts that occur during a quick transition can't effect those who need the most help." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

Mr. William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, USA
"Collaboration among local goverments can push national governments forward towards de-carbonized societies." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

Ms. Eri Nakajima, Vice Governor of Nagano Prefecture, Japan
"In every council we do, we make sure that every sector is well represented: youth, academia, religion, persons with disabilities, elderly, urban poor... because lacking one sector would make our action slower." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

Ms. Stephany Uy Tan, Councillor of City of Catbalogan, Philipinnes
"I think it is necessary for everyone to recognize that we are in a climate emergency, and I am not afraid to use the expression climate emergency." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

Mr. Geraldo Julio de Mello Filho, Mayor of Municipality of Recife, Federative Republic of Brazil
"No city or region in the world is immune to disasters anymore... The impacts are different, but the solutions should be collaboratively developed." Watch the entire Climate Studio interview.

Mr. Yunus Arikan, Head of ICLEI Global Policy and Advocacy